Top of the world
by Eveth21
Summary: It was his seventeenth birthday and Yuri Plisetsky was thoroughly fed up.


It was his seventeenth birthday and Yuri Plisetsky was thoroughly fed up.

He had been friends with Otabek for more than a year now, and over the months their bond had got increasingly strong. Sure, they were busy with their training sessions almost all of the time, but as soon as they had some free time, they would make the most of it and meet up. Usually it was Otabek who went to St Petersburg, because he was glad to meet up with Viktor and Yuuri as well. However, he and Yuri would always try and get some alone time, just the two of them, even if it was a simple stroll in the park or an afternoon spent skating lazily without the pressure of competition.

But then all four would dine together, and, in spite of not wanting to admit it, Yuri always enjoyed those nights. At least, until Viktor started to shoot suggestive glances at him, shifting his gaze between him and Otabek, and then winking. Yuri would do his best to maintain an uninterested poker face, while Yuuri, who noticed everything Viktor did, would blush on his behalf, looking mortified, as if silently trying to apologise for his partner's unabashed behaviour. Yuri could only consider himself lucky that Otabek hadn't noticed anything yet, or maybe he was just pretending.

As much as Viktor's impertinence annoyed him though, he couldn't quite argue with the implication. He was unsure about when exactly their friendship had started to mean something more, but if Viktor had figured it out, he must have been way past the point of no return. Still, he couldn't seem to bring himself to discuss the matter with Otabek.

 _He's an okay guy_ , he kept telling himself. _We've always talked about anything, if things don't work out between us, surely we'd still manage to stay friends. He's not the kind of guy to run away and disappear just because he's found out his best friend has been crushing on him for months. Not if I swear I'll pretend nothing ever happened!_

But as soon as he impulsively grabbed his phone, other thoughts would start flooding his mind. _What if he is? What if it was too awkward for him and I messed up our friendship forever?_ He tried to imagine how _he_ would feel if it were the other way round, but no matter what, he couldn't help feeling butterflies in his stomach at the thought of Otabek confessing to being attracted to him, and he had to restrain himself from fangirling like a little girl.

And to think that he, Yuri Plisetsky, the Ice Tiger of Russia, GPF gold medallist at only fifteen, couldn't utter three simple, stupid words such as ' _I like you'_. To say that it annoyed him was one hell of an understatement.

That's why Yuri, tired of living with that doubt, had resolved to take matters into his own hands and take advantage of Otabek's visit to confess his feelings to him.

* * *

"Earth to Yurio!" Viktor's loud voice severed his trail of thought, bringing him abruptly back to reality.

"What the hell do you want?" Yuri burst, blushing slightly. The last thing he wanted was for Viktor to openly tease him because he'd caught him daydreaming.

"Oh, you're alive then! Yuuri and I were afraid someone had hypnotised you…"

"Дураки*," Yurio muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, Yurio, this is no way to speak to your da–"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, YOU'RE NOT MY DADS!" he snarled, red-faced. "AND FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, STOP CALLING ME YURIO. IT'S NOT MY FUCKING NAME," he went on, perfectly aware that pointing it out once again was useless.

Viktor chuckled lightly and turned his eyes back on the road; he had learnt long ago to overlook Yuri's little outbursts, knowing they were mostly aimed at protecting his reputation. As if confirming his thoughts, he caught a glimpse of Yuuri turning his head towards the window to hide an amused smile.

"Anyway, Yurio, we were wondering what your plans were for tonight."

Yuri remained silent for a moment and stared at the blurred landscape that could be seen from the motorway. "I suppose Beka will be jet-lagged after the flight…" he mused hesitantly. "So perhaps we could spend the afternoon at home, maybe watching a film. Tonight I'd like to go somewhere though."

Viktor and Yuuri nodded. "If you need a lift anywhere, you just need to ask," Yuuri said smiling. "Viktor and I are at your complete disposal."

"Actually… I'd like you to come as well."

The two exchanged a surprised look, then a smile. "Sure. We'd love to."

Nothing else needed to be said, as Yuri wasn't quite inclined to great displays of affection.

Some minutes passed, during which the two lovebirds left Yuri alone with his thoughts, in the meanwhile sharing looks, jokes and muffled chuckles. The car was quickly covering the miles that separated St Petersburg from Pulkovo Airport, where they were going to fetch Otabek. Until...

"I need to ask you something," Yuri blurted out of the blue.

"We can't give you an answer. You'll have to ask _him_ ," Yuuri replied, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" Yuri asked, puzzled.

"Otabek," he explained. "You were going to ask us about him, weren't you? But you won't get a definite answer until you speak directly to him."

Yuri blushed furiously. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well… let's just say that–"

"Absolutely, yes," Viktor said. "To begin with, you always call him Beka. And he calls you Yura."

"What the fuck has that got to do with it?"

"Moreover," he went on, ignoring Yuri's protests, "you're always glued to your phone with a moronic smile fixed on your face. You don't have to be an Einstein to figure out you're not texting JJ."

"You're way less foul-mouthed when you're with him," Yuuri cut in. "And you're almost kind, even to us," he added with a wink, earning himself a death glare from Yuri.

"Okay, fine. I like Beka. A lot." He blushed again. _Dammit, this is getting awkward. Better for them if it stays between us_. "The point is, how do I know if he likes me back?"

"As I said before," Yuuri said kindly, "you'll have to talk to him. We could give you our impressions, but only Otabek can give you the truth. If it's any help, he doesn't strike me as the type to throw away a friendship because of some unrequited feelings.

Yuri nodded. "Thanks." Yuuri smiled back. "Hey, I've just had an idea, how about going to karaoke tonight?"

* * *

Inside the airport there was a huge crowd, Yuri looked round frantically, trying to spot Otabek among all those people and at the same time trying not to lose sight of Viktor and Yuuri. He cast a glance at his phone to check his notifications, in case his friend had texted him his location, or where to meet, but nothing. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning round, he saw Viktor give him a nod and point at something behind him. Yuri stood on his tiptoes to get a better view, and there, about twenty metres from him, was Otabek, waving furiously with a huge grin on his face. Yuri felt his own lips stretch into a smile in return.

"YURA!"

* * *

"AH!" Yuri let loose a deep breath of satisfaction as he put his empty glass back on the table, a tad too enthusiastically. He couldn't say how many shots he'd guzzled down, though he knew both Yuuri and Otabek had counted them, and they wouldn't hesitate to stop him if he were about to overdo it. Viktor had let him drink because _"it's your seventeenth birthday, after all, and we adults are here to keep an eye on you,"_ even though he wasn't setting a good example himself. At the moment he was clinging to Yuuri, whose face had turned lobster red and who was desperately avoiding eye contact with the other customers. They had barely managed to prevent him from taking his shirt off, much to the disappointment of the gaggle of girls sitting at the table next to them.

"Yuuri," Viktor said in that whiny voice typical of those who've had a drop too much, while grinding against his poor victim. "We're in a karaoke bar, why aren't any of us singing?"

"Hmmm." Yuuri looked round, silently asking for support, but Yuri shrugged, as if saying _it's your problem_ , and Otabek just chuckled.

"Yuuri! Come and sing with me! Let's sing a duet, Yuuri!"

 _Oh no. The heart-shaped mouth. He's doomed._ As expected, Yuuri found himself standing on the karaoke stage against his will, while Viktor was browsing the song list looking for inspiration. In no time they were already striking up the first notes of _Top of the World._ Yuri doubted a soppier song than that existed. He faked gagged in his glass, ripping a laugh from Otabek. Yuri lifted his gaze, surprised. He'd never seen him laugh so openly, and for so little. _And so many times in a single day,_ he gasped in realisation, recalling the afternoon spent together. He suddenly decided that Otabek had to laugh more, because it was such a heart-warming sound. And he wanted to be the cause of it. He leant his head on Otabek's shoulder with a contented sigh and shut his eyes to listen to Viktor and Yuuri's performance, which, truth be told, wasn't that bad. He snapped them open as he felt his friend's fingers brush his cheek while tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.

"It's grown a lot since the last time we were together," Otabek whispered in reply to his puzzled look.

"Uh-uh." Yuri's cheeks were burning, and he wasn't quite sure he could blame it all on the alcohol.

"It really suits you," he went on, gently grabbing the plait Yuri used to wear his hair in, and bringing it to his nose as if to smell it.

Yuri's heart was pounding wildly. _Beka? What the hell?! Sure, I'm drunk, but what's your excuse?_

Their faces were so close that his head was spinning furiously as he was getting lost in those dark eyes, that deep stare...

"Yuri! It's your turn now!"

Yuri gave a jump, snatched from his dreamlike state by Viktor, who was tugging insistently at his arm to get him up. _Dammit Viktor! Are you on my side or what?_

"Okay, okay! I got it, I'm going." He stood up and walked to the tiny stage, casting a last fleeting glance at Otabek, who mouthed _Davay!_ and gave him an encouraging smile.

Yuri gave a him thumbs up in return and sighed, mustering up his courage – how was it possible that he could pull off an impossibly tough routine in front of a large audience, and yet he hesitated over performing a stupid song in front of only a few dozen people, half of which already drunk?

 _Come on, Yuri. It's your chance to let him know how you feel about him,_ he told himself taking a look at the song list. One of them caught his eye. _Oh, I must be out of my mind. Fuck me, right?_

Otabek watched Yuri choose his song with an amused smile on his lips and a tender look in his eyes, seeing how awkward he was. That boy was a living contradiction.

When the song started, his first thought was that he must have already heard it somewhere. There was something familiar about it… maybe in a film? Viktor and Yuuri must have been of the same opinion, because the former had straightened up on his chair, excitedly catching Otabek by the arm, and seemed about to tell him something. The latter was staring at Yuri on the stage, his eyes wide open and a funny expression on his face, halfway between disbelief and exasperation.

Then Yuri began to sing, and all Otabek could think was _Oh!_

 _Where have all the good men gone_

 _And where are all the gods?_

 _Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?_

 _Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_

 _Late at night I toss and I turn_

 _And I dream of what I need_

The bar was immersed in darkness, except for a few coloured lights that lit up the stage, but Otabek could swear Yuri's face was beet red, as he refused to meet his gaze, rather choosing to stare at the wall in front of him.

 _I need a hero_

 _I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night_

 _He's gotta be strong_

 _And he's gotta be fast_

 _And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_

 _I need a hero_

 _I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light_

 _He's gotta be sure_

 _And it's gotta be soon_

 _And he's gotta be larger than life!_

 _Larger than life_

Viktor and Yuuri were now shaking thanks to fits of the giggles, and Otabek couldn't blame them. The story of the friendship between the fairy of Russia and the hero of Kazakhstan had spread like wildfire across all social media platforms at the time. However, he didn't think Yuri had paid any attention to it, let alone that he had somehow identified with those nicknames, or that he would use them to tell him… what the heck was he trying to tell him?

 _Somewhere after midnight_

 _In my wildest fantasy_

 _Somewhere just beyond my reach_

 _There's someone reaching back for me_

 _Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat_

 _It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet_

"Yuuri, do you know who sings that song in Shrek 2?" Viktor managed to say, holding his stomach, which was hurting half from the laughter and half from the effort to restrain it.

"The… the Fairy Godmother!" Yuuri wasn't coping much better, his voice came out as more of a choked sound as tears of laughter ran down his face.

 _What a bunch of arseholes! So much for their moral support. They're going to be shitty parents._ Yuri was now all but embarrassed, as he went on undeterred with his song – mostly to preserve what dignity he had left. He was still resolutely avoiding looking at Otabek, and was shooting death glares at Viktor and Yuuri, who were splitting their sides with laughter, clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it.

 _I need a hero_

 _I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light_

 _He's gotta be sure_

 _And it's gotta be soon_

 _And he's gotta be larger than life_

 _I need a hero_

 _I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night…_

The song faded slowly, and Yuri had to force himself to stay on the stage until the very last note, which was followed by warm applause by the audience. He waved slightly, forcing a smile, then rushed out of the bar, gratefully welcoming the cold wind of March on his flushed cheeks. He leant his forehead and fists against the wall with a frustrated grunt. _Great,_ he thought. _I've managed to make a fool of myself in an epic way in front of the only person I've ever fallen in love with. I suppose one needs special skills for this as well…_

He turned back round, his back against the wall and his eyes shut, plucking up his courage to go back in the bar, his mind struggling frantically to come up with a way to save both the evening and his face.

"Yura?"

"Hm." He didn't even open his eyes, he didn't need to.

"Yura, please, look at me."

He complied unwillingly. He didn't know what to expect, if it would be a scornful or a disgusted look. But he should have known better, Otabek would have never given him either. On the contrary, behind an amused sparkle there was _that_ look, the one he'd fallen in love with. Intense, firm and meaningful. Impossible to bear Ashamed as he was, Yuri lowered his eyes.

"Beka… forget about everything, okay? I'm drunk, and…"

"No," Otabek cut him off. "I have no intention of forgetting about it. And if you're trying to tell me that you only did it because of the alcohol, just know that I would be very disappointed."

"What?" Yuri couldn't understand what he was getting at.

"I've never quite cared about that hero-and-the-fairy thing, I always thought it bothered you, but… to be fair, I've always found it adorable. I've always found _you_ adorable. And what you just did, well, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. So, I warn you, don't you dare tell me you didn't really mean it.

Yuri gulped. Did it mean that… there might be hope?

"Beka… I… need to tell you something." He squeezed his eyes shut. He felt his determination come and go like a wave on the shore, as slippery as a fish underwater, and he was unable to ride its momentum.

 _Crap. I'd better hurry before I lose my shit._ "I… you know, I've been thinking for a while that... maybe, I hope there could be something more than friendship between us." _There. I said it._

"Maybe?" Yuri dared look at him, but Otabek didn't seem angry, disgusted or disappointed. Just encouraging, and… hopeful?

"Without the 'maybe'?" he ventured shyly.

"Much better." Otabek features relaxed into a relieved smile. "Ah, Yura, I didn't know how to get out of this situation."

"You?!" Yuri raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Well, yes," he shrugged. "I wasn't sure about your feelings and I didn't want to frighten you."

Yuri was speechless. "We've been such idiots," he snorted. "All this time spent worrying about each other, when we were on the same wavelength. We could have talked about this _ages_ ago. Think of all the time we've wasted! Oh, Viktor and Katsudon are going to throw it in my face forever, and–"

"Maybe." Otabek murmured absent-mindedly, grabbing Yuri's chin to meet his gaze. "But now stop talking nonsense."

 _Oh!_ Yuri blushed. He was feeling his heartbeat everywhere: fluttering in his stomach, insistent in his chest, suffocating in his throat, deafening in his ears.

He closed his eyes, and when he felt Otabek's mouth on his, he gasped, letting a light moan of surprise mixed with pleasure escape his lips. Yuri buried his fingers in his hair, holding him in place, as if he had the slightest intention of pulling away from the kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying every warm breath, every whisper, every slow and soft touch. Each sensation was heightened by the cold, the nocturnal silence and their mutual desire.

They eventually pulled apart, remaining in each other's embrace, their sparkling eyes trying to communicate anything their words, gestures or kisses might have forgotten to say.

Yuri had never seen such a sweet expression on Otabek's face, one of unconditional love that brought to mind his theme from his Grand Prix senior debut. _"Agape is a feeling, impossible to explain in words,"_ is how Viktor had described back then. A _nd now it's all mine._ He thought about his wish to make Otabek laugh, and felt like the luckiest man alive. _I could not have asked for a better birthday present._

Almost as if reading his mind, Otabek gently took his face between his hands, and laid a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Happy birthday, Yura."

They silently walked back into the bar holding hands, lost in a world that belonged to them alone.

* * *

NOTES:

First of all, I need to thank Glynna (glynna-gold on tumblr). She offered to beta read this fanfic and did a wonderful job! I've fixed it, and I hope it flows much better now :D

*Дураки: fools, idiots (to any Russian speakers out there, please feel free to correct me anytime).

You may wonder why I've written 'davay' instead of 'davai', as it's seen in the anime. I'm pretty sure it's 'давай' in Russian, and the 'й' corresponds more or less to our 'Y' or 'J' (I've seen both), while 'и' is an 'I'. Again, feel free to kick me - figuratively - if I'm stating bullshit.

This fanfic is both written and translated by me (the original language is Italian), if there are mistakes I'm the one to blame T_T And if there are any, please let me know at once. Especially typos, I hate them more than I hate tomatoes.

This is my very first fanfiction, so any comment - both on the story and on the English, as it's not my first language - is obviously most welcome!

A huge THANK YOU! to my beta/proofreader/bff/main supporter/#1 fan Maple (tea-rex26 on tumblr)


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